55520 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 184 / Friday, September 22, 2006 / Notices 

1An Agreement State is a State that has entered 

into an agreement with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission pursuant to Section 274b of the 

Atomic Energy Act, as amended, under which the 

NRC discontinues its Federal authority and the 

State assumes authority under State law for the 

regulation of certain radioactive materials. 

Therefore, this agreement allows the State to 

regulate the use of radioactive material within that 

State. 

2The Energy Policy Act of 2005 expanded NRC’s 

regulatory authority to include discrete sources of 

radium-226, but not diffuse sources of radium-226. 

Diffuse sources are considered to include radium226 as it occurs in nature or as a result of other 

processes where radium-226 may be 

unintentionally concentrated (such as in residuals 

from the treatment of water to meet drinking water 

standards). Therefore, NRC does not regulate 

radium-226 at drinking water facilities. 

your comments. You may submit 

comments by any of the following 

methods: 

• Mail comments to Rules and 

Directives Branch, Office of 

Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission, Washington, DC 20555–

0001 (MS T–6 D59). 

• Hand-deliver comments to Rules 

and Directives Branch, Office of 

Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission, 11555 Rockville Pike, 

Rockville, Maryland 20852, between 

7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. on Federal 

workdays. 

• Fax comments to Rules and 

Directives Branch, Office of 

Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission, at (301) 415–5144. 

• E-mail comments to 

NRCREP@nrc.gov. 

• Submit comments via the NRC’s 

rulemaking Web site at http:// 

ruleforum.llnl.gov. 

Contact Information: The header on 

the first page of each DG will specify the 

name and telephone number of the 

cognizant NRC staff member. Comments 

and questions about our rulemaking 

Web site should be addressed to Carol 

A. Gallagher at (301) 415–5905 or by email to CAG@nrc.gov. Contact 

information for use in obtaining printed 

or electronic copies of the proposed DGs 

is provided in the section on 

Availability and Dates. Contact 

information for use in submitting 

comments is provided in the section on 

Comment Procedures. Comments or 

questions about the NRC’s revision of 

regulatory guides to support new reactor 

licensing should be addressed to Jimi T. 

Yerokun at (301) 415–0585 or by e-mail 

to JTY@nrc.gov. 

For the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission. 

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 14th day 

of September, 2006. 

Farouk Eltawila, 

Director, Division of Risk Assessment and 

Special Projects, Office of Nuclear Regulatory 

Research. 

[FR Doc. 06–8016 Filed 9–21–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

Guidance for Receiving Enforcement 

Discretion When Concentrating 

Uranium at Community Water Systems 

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission. 

ACTION: Notice of guidance for receiving 

enforcement discretion when 

concentrating uranium at community 

water systems. 

SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission (NRC) is issuing a 

regulatory information summary (RIS) to 

provide guidance for receiving 

enforcement discretion when 

concentrating uranium at drinking water 

facilities. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Michael K. Williamson, Office of 

Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, 

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 

Washington, DC 20555–0001, Mail Stop: 

T8K3, telephone: (301) 415–6234, email: mkw1@nrc.gov, or Gary Comfort, 

Office of Nuclear Material Safety and 

Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission, Washington, DC 20555–

0001, Mail Stop: T8K3, telephone: (301) 

415–8106, e-mail: gcc1@nrc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NRC 

Regulatory Issue Summary 2006–20—

Guidance for Receiving Enforcement 

Discretion When Concentrating 

Uranium at Community Water Systems. 

ADDRESSES: All community water 

systems (CWSs), in U.S. Nuclear 

Regulatory Commission (NRC) nonAgreement States, that during the 

treatment of drinking water, may 

accumulate and concentrate naturallyoccurring uranium in media, effluents, 

and other residuals, above 0.05 percent 

by weight. CWSs operating in 

Agreement States 1 should contact their 

State regulatory agency to determine 

what requirements apply to their 

operations. 

Intent 

The NRC is issuing this regulatory 

issue summary (RIS), to inform 

addressees and other stakeholders of 

NRC’s implementation of a policy of 

enforcement discretion for CWSs. Under 

this policy, CWSs, in non-Agreement 

States, that concentrate naturallyoccurring uranium above 0.05 percent 

by weight in media, effluents, and other 

residuals during the treatment of 

drinking water will not be required to 

apply for a NRC specific license while 

they remain eligible for enforcement 

discretion. 

Background 

In 1991, the U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency (EPA) proposed 

changes to the current radionuclide 

standard for uranium in drinking water. 

On December 7, 2000 (65 FR 76707), the 

EPA issued new standards for the 

uranium content in drinking water. In 

the final rulemaking, EPA set a 

maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 

30 micrograms per liter (30 μg/L), 

equivalent to 30 parts per billion, for 

uranium in drinking water. EPA’s 

detailed technical and legal basis 

supporting this level can be found on 

pages 76712–76716 of the December 7, 

2000, final rule. 

The Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as 

amended,2 provides the NRC with 

regulatory authority over source 

material (which includes uranium and 

thorium) after its removal from its place 

of deposit in nature. NRC has issued 

regulations for source material in Title 

10, Code of Federal Regulations (10 

CFR) Part 40, ‘‘Domestic Licensing of 

Source Material.’’ Part 40 defines 

‘‘source material,’’ in part, as meaning 

uranium ‘‘in any physical or chemical 

form.’’ In accordance with 10 CFR 

40.13(a), the NRC regards uranium in 

any solution (e.g., water) in which the 

uranium is by weight less than onetwentieth of 1 percent (0.05 percent or 

335 picocuries per gram [pCi/g] for 

natural uranium) of the solution as an 

‘‘unimportant quantity’’ of source 

material. Any CWS possessing such 

unimportant quantities of uranium 

would not need an NRC license under 

the 10 CFR 40.13(a) exemption. If a 

CWS possesses more than an 

unimportant quantity of uranium, but 

less than 15 pounds of uranium at any 

one time and less than 150 pounds of 

uranium in any one calendar year, the 

CWS may operate under the existing 

general license in 10 CFR 40.22, ‘‘Small 

quantities of source material.’’ A CWS 

operating under the general license in 

10 CFR 40.22 is not required to formally 

notify NRC that it is operating under the 

conditions of that general license. 

Although some CWSs may be able to 

treat for uranium and remain within the 

conditions of 10 CFR 40.13(a) or 10 CFR 

40.22, NRC expects many CWSs will 

possess uranium in quantities exceeding 

those limits. Without enforcement 

discretion, such CWSs located in nonAgreement States would be required to 

apply for specific NRC source material 

licenses to possess, process, and transfer 


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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 184 / Friday, September 22, 2006 / Notices 55521 

3Compliance with the conditions in this RIS is 

not mandatory unless the CWS notifies NRC of its 

intent to operate under enforcement discretion. 

However, if the CWS does not meet these 

conditions, concentrates uranium to levels greater 

than 0.05 percent, and exceeds the general license 

conditions in 10 CFR 40.22, enforcement discretion 

will not be exercised, the CWS may be issued a 

notice of violation and be subject to civil penalties, 

and the CWS will be required to apply for a specific 

license in accordance with 10 CFR 40.31. 

4Although NRC plans to use conditions 

discussed in this RIS in the development of the new 

general license, it should be noted that the final rule 

for the new general license may contain conditions 

that are different, or additional to those discussed 

in this RIS. 

the accumulated uranium, pursuant to 

10 CFR 40.31 ‘‘Application for specific 

licenses.’’

Similarly, CWSs in Agreement States 

may also be required, under appropriate 

State regulations, to obtain a license for 

authorization to possess, process, and 

transfer the uranium at concentrations 

greater than 0.05 percent by weight. 

Based on the expectation of relatively 

low impacts to public health and safety 

and the environment during normal 

operations, and because NRC recognizes 

that the cost of obtaining a specific 

license can be burdensome, NRC has 

begun a rulemaking to establish a new 

class of general licenses. This new 

general license will be specific to CWSs 

that concentrate uranium above 0.05 

percent by weight, in response to 

meeting EPA’s MCLs (including the 

inadvertent concentration of uranium 

while treating other contaminants in the 

water). The new general license will 

ensure that public health and safety and 

the environment remain adequately 

protected. 

Summary of Issue 

While a new general license for CWSs 

is being developed, CWSs in nonAgreement States, concentrating 

uranium above 0.05 percent by weight, 

will be allowed to operate under 

enforcement discretion. Absent 

enforcement discretion, such CWSs 

would have to apply for a specific NRC 

license as required by 10 CFR 40.31. 

Enforcement discretion exercised by 

NRC does not remove or modify any 

obligations for the CWS to meet the 

requirements of other regulatory 

agencies. 

Requested Information 

To be eligible for enforcement 

discretion,3 the CWS operator must 

submit a notification to NRC stating an 

intent to operate under enforcement 

discretion. This notification must be 

submitted no later than 30 days after the 

CWS operator becomes aware that the 

concentration of the source material 

possessed by the CWS exceeds 0.05 

percent by weight, and the quantity of 

source material possessed by the CWS 

exceeds more than 15 pounds of 

uranium at any one time or more than 

150 pounds in any one calendar year. 

The notification must include the 

facility name and address, owner of the 

facility, and form of the effluent, media, 

or residual that exceeds 0.05 percent by 

weight. The notification shall also 

identify a point of contact, including a 

mailing address, telephone number, and 

e-mail address (if available). 

The notification may be sent as 

written correspondence to: RIS 06–020, 

Project Manager, ATTN: Intent to 

Operate per RIS 06–020, U.S. Nuclear 

Regulatory Commission, Mail Stop: T8–

F3, Washington, DC 20555–0001, or by 

sending an e-mail with the requested 

information to: 

2006UraniumRIS@nrc.gov. 

Conditions for Enforcement Discretion 4

In addition to notifying the NRC of its 

intent to operate under enforcement 

discretion, the CWS must comply with 

the following conditions to be eligible 

for enforcement discretion: 

1. Records 

The CWS will retain the following 

records for three years after the transfer 

or disposal of material containing 

uranium: 

(A) Amount of uranium transferred 

from the CWS site; 

(B) To whom it was transferred; and 

(C) Average concentration of uranium 

in each shipment. 

2. Storage, Transfer, and Disposal 

When filter media (or other materials, 

such as sludge) contain greater than 0.05 

percent by weight of uranium, and are 

no longer actively used by the CWS to 

meet EPA’s uranium MCL, the material 

containing the uranium is to be 

transported from the CWS in accordance 

with applicable Department of 

Transportation regulations. Transfer of 

the material containing the uranium 

must be as follows: 

(A) To a facility authorized to possess 

the source material (e.g., a person 

authorized by a license for possession of 

uranium issued by NRC or an NRC 

Agreement State); or 

(B) For disposal at a facility 

authorized to accept radioactive 

material of the form and type generated 

by the CWS. 

While awaiting transfer, the material 

containing the uranium must be stored 

in a manner that will not allow for the 

release of the uranium or unnecessarily 

expose the CWS workers. Materials 

containing uranium, at concentrations 

greater than 0.05 percent, and that are 

no longer actively being used as part of 

the drinking water treatment process, 

must be removed from the CWS within 

90 days from the time they were 

removed from service. In addition, 

while in storage, the material containing 

the uranium must be kept in an area that 

provides containment (e.g., a catch 

basin) in case of a spill. 

3. Processing Restrictions 

The CWS shall implement new 

procedures, or use existing procedures 

for hazardous chemicals to allow 

employees to safely handle and operate 

equipment used to process or contain 

the uranium, concentrated greater than 

0.05 percent by weight, during normal 

operations. These procedures should 

limit the possibility that employees are 

able to inhale or ingest the uranium. 

Enforcement discretion only applies 

to those activities required to meet 

EPA’s MCL. Additional intentional 

concentration, or processing of the 

uranium captured on the filter media, 

after removal from the drinking water 

treatment process, is not permitted 

under this policy of enforcement 

discretion, and shall only be done in 

accordance with a specific license 

issued by NRC, or an Agreement State. 

Backwashing, or other procedures 

required for normal operation of the 

filter media, is permitted as long as the 

uranium is captured, stored, and 

transferred, as appropriate, in 

accordance with the transfer procedures 

in Section 2, ‘‘Storage, Transfer, and 

Disposal,’’ above. If allowed by local 

pretreatment permits, discharge of 

residuals containing uranium to sanitary 

sewers must be below the lesser of any 

local regulations, permit requirements, 

or 3 picocuries of uranium per milliliter 

(3 pCi/ml). 

A CWS operating under this policy of 

enforcement discretion may not 

intentionally dilute the uranium after it 

is concentrated, except as part of normal 

operation of its equipment (e.g., 

backwashing). 

4. Off-Normal Operations 

A CWS must have written procedures 

to mitigate the impacts of a spill, or 

other accident involving the 

concentrated uranium. The facility must 

immediately take action to clean-up or 

mitigate the impacts of a spill or 

accident in accordance with its 

procedures, and provide written 

notification to the NRC (to the address 

above to which the original notification 

was sent) within 30 days of the incident. 

Spilled materials, containing uranium 

removed from drinking water, must not 

be allowed to adversely affect the 


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55522 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 184 / Friday, September 22, 2006 / Notices 

surrounding environment or CWS 

workers, or be allowed to re-enter the 

water treatment system. 

5. Posting and Labeling 

A CWS operating under enforcement 

discretion must ensure that the 

equipment containing uranium, in 

concentrations greater than 0.05 percent 

by weight, is clearly labeled and must 

provide sufficient information (such as 

the radionuclide present or ‘‘Caution—

Radioactive Materials’’) to permit 

individuals handling or using the 

containers, or working in the vicinity of 

the containers, to take precautions or 

minimize exposures. Areas, such as 

sludge ponds, containing the uranium 

in concentrations greater than 0.05 

percent by weight, should be posted 

with a conspicuous sign or signs bearing 

the radiation symbol and the words 

‘‘CAUTION, RADIOACTIVE 

MATERIALS.’’

6. Criteria for Terminating Operation 

Under Enforcement Discretion 

Enforcement discretion will apply 

until either: 

(A) NRC amends its regulations to 

create a new general license for CWSs, 

or decides to no longer pursue a new 

regulation; 

(B) The CWS obtains a specific license 

from the NRC or an Agreement State; or 

(C) The CWS ceases operations. If this 

is the case, it shall decommission/ 

decontaminate the facility in accordance 

with 10 CFR Part 20, Subpart E, 

‘‘Radiological Criteria for License 

Termination.’’

Enforcement discretion may be 

rescinded if the CWS is not meeting the 

above objectives, or in NRC’s opinion, 

the CWS cannot operate safely under 

the enforcement discretion policy. 

If the NRC modifies or ceases its 

policy of enforcement discretion, the 

NRC will appropriately modify or 

rescind the RIS, and will notify all 

affected CWSs of such changes. 

7. Enforcement Guidance 

Enforcement guidance has been 

developed and is located on NRC’s Web 

site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/ 

basic-ref/enf-man/app-a.html. 

Note: NRC generic communications may be 

found on the NRC public Web site, http:// 

www.nrc.gov, under Electronic Reading 

Room/Document Collections. 

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 14th day 

of September 2006. 

Patricia K. Holahan, 

Acting Director, Division of Industrial and 

Medical Nuclear Safety, Office of Nuclear 

Material Safety and Safeguards. 

[FR Doc. 06–8012 Filed 9–21–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND 

BUDGET 

Standards and Guidelines for 

Statistical Surveys 

AGENCY: Office of Management and 

Budget, Executive Office of the 

President. 

ACTION: Notice of decision. 

SUMMARY: As part of an ongoing effort to 

improve the quality, objectivity, utility, 

and integrity of information collected 

and disseminated by the Federal 

Government, the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) is issuing revised 

Standards and Guidelines for Statistical 

Surveys. OMB proposed revised 

standards and requested public 

comment on July 14, 2005 (70 FR 

40746–40747). The proposed standards 

were based on recommendations from 

the Federal Committee on Statistical 

Methodology’s (FCSM) Subcommittee 

on Standards for Statistical Surveys 

whose charge was to update and revise 

OMB Statistical Policy Directive No. 1, 

Standards for Statistical Surveys, and 

OMB Statistical Policy Directive No. 2, 

Publication of Statistics. The guidance, 

which applies to all Federal agencies 

subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act 

of 1995, is intended to ensure that the 

results of statistical surveys sponsored 

by the Federal Government are as 

reliable and useful as possible. OMB 

received six public comments on the 

proposed standards and has made some 

modifications to the proposed standards 

and guidelines in response to these 

comments. OMB is now issuing these 

Standards and Guidelines for Statistical 

Surveys as final, and they are available 

in their entirety along with the public 

comments and OMB’s summary of and 

response to the public comments on the 

OMB Web site at http:// 

www.whitehouse.gov/omb/inforeg/ 

statpolicy.html. 

Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3504(e)(3). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Brian Harris-Kojetin, Ph.D., Statistical 

and Science Policy Office, Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs, 

Office of Management and Budget, 

NEOB, Room 10201, 725 17th Street, 

NW., Washington, DC 20503. 

Telephone: 202–395–3093. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Statistics collected and published by 

the Federal Government constitute a 

significant portion of the available 

information about the United States’

economy, population, natural resources, 

environment, and public and private 

institutions. These data are used by the 

Federal Government and others as a 

basis for actions that affect people’s 

lives and well-being. It is essential that 

they be collected, processed, and 

published in a manner that guarantees 

and inspires confidence in their 

reliability. The statistical programs of 

the Federal Government are 

decentralized among more than 70 

agencies or organizational units. It is 

therefore also essential that, to the 

extent permitted by law, there be 

sufficient government-wide uniformity 

in statistical methods and practices to 

ensure the maximum usefulness of the 

statistics produced. 

The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(PRA; 44 U.S.C. 3504) gives the Director 

of OMB broad responsibility for 

improving the usefulness of information 

collected, maintained, and disseminated 

by the Federal Government and for 

reducing the reporting burden on the 

public. Among the Director’s functions 

under the PRA are statistical policy and 

coordination, which includes the 

development and implementation of 

‘‘Government-wide policies, principles, 

standards, and guidelines concerning (a) 

statistical collection procedures and 

methods; (b) statistical data 

classification; (c) statistical information 

presentation and dissemination; (d) 

timely release of statistical data; and (e) 

such statistical data sources as may be 

required for the administration of 

Federal programs’’ (44 U.S.C. 3504 

(e)(3)). The Administrator for the Office 

of Information and Regulatory Affairs in 

OMB has the responsibility to ‘‘develop 

programs and prescribe regulations to 

improve the compilation, analysis, 

publication, and dissemination of 

statistical information by executive 

agencies’’ (31 U.S.C. 1104 (d)). 

The revised Standards and Guidelines 

for Statistical Surveys provide guidance 

for designing, conducting, and 

disseminating statistical surveys and 

studies sponsored by Federal agencies. 

The standards and guidelines are 

intended to ensure that such surveys 

and studies are designed to produce 

reliable data as efficiently as possible 

and that methods are documented and 

results presented in a manner that 

makes the data as accessible and useful 

as possible. 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES